Making a fortune in cryptocurrencies is easy, but follow these 5 rules to keep it.

Investing in any financial asset can be a complicated exercise, but this is especially true for the fast-paced cryptocurrency market, which presents its own unique set of difficulties and challenges.

A popular saying dictates that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill and become an expert. In cryptocurrency time, this is measured in market cycles, which subject every trader to a few roller coaster rides of volatility as a crash course on how to navigate the market.

Here are five important lessons every trader should learn when it comes to investing in cryptocurrency bull markets.

Rule #1: No one goes broke taking profits.

Since the early days of cryptocurrencies, the community has prided itself on their "hodl" nature, with volatility in the price of Bitcoin (BTC) and other tokens shaking the coins out of shaky hands and into those of the true believers who make up the crypto aristocracy of today's world.

Few like to mention the saying "it's not your keys, it's not your cryptocurrencies", partly due to the fact that liquidity and velocity of money are important factors in a healthily functioning market, but also because simply holding on as the market rises and then falls has resulted in fortunes made on paper simply vanishing with the onset of a bear market.

When a cryptocurrency has made significant gains, especially if the price became parabolic in a near vertical line on its trading chart, the best move is to take profits and allocate those funds to stable coins or different assets whose trading cycles are not exhausted.

The fact is that nothing keeps going up forever, and in the cryptocurrency market, the fall can often be as fast and hard as the rise.

If selling a token is difficult due to personal ties and a long-term bullish outlook, it is useful to consider that after a parabolic move and consolidation phase, it is possible to purchase even more tokens with the cashed-out funds once the dust settles.

Rule # 2: Don't rush out of fear: there is always another currency.

One experience that almost every cryptocurrency investor has gone through is having the urge to buy a particular coin and holding out, only to see it take off like a rocket the next day and go on a two-week run that multiplies its price tenfold.

At this point, the fear of missing out on potential gains (FOMO) kicks in and is so strong that a large market order is placed and filled at the top of the market. The result is usually an unexpected pullback where the newly opened position loses half its value within a few hours, as early holders follow rule #1 and collect profits.

Don't get carried away by FOMO!

Once a coin has started to rise, simply watch it from the sidelines. Mentally congratulate those who have caught the upside and repeat the following, "There's always another token."

A quick survey of past bull markets will show lots of token pump and dumps in bull and bear markets, proving that there is no shortage of opportunities to get in early on high-flying projects and make solid gains amid the rapid hype cycles the cryptocurrency market is known for.

Rule #3: It's not going to be like last time.

Technical analysts often like to assert that cryptocurrencies follow a series of predictable cycles, which they use to validate certain pieces of their craft. Holding this perspective allows them to apply past market cycles to the current price chart as a way to predict what's next.

In 2021, this belief led to year-long proclamations that bitcoin was going to reach $100,000 and beyond, only to be capped below USD 69,000 and limped to the end of the year with no sign of the long-awaited top.

Over the course of the year, the market was compared to the 2017 bull rally, then the 2013 bull rally, and finally a combination of both rallies, as chart pundits struggled to explain where the market was in the cycle and where it would go next.

In the end, the 2021 rally saw a unique double top unlike any previous market cycle and could possibly extend into 2022 in line with the prediction of some that the four-year cycle is lengthening.

The main takeaway is to not wait for the market to behave as it has previously and focus on trading the market you have. Follow price trends and be sure to keep rules 1 and 2 in mind.

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